Zhu Youxiao had already made his plans. He had been planning for so long that it was almost time to close the net.
He tapped the table lightly with his fingers, his expression growing increasingly serious. What he wanted to do was to overthrow the Donglin Party once and for all, crushing them from all sides, whether in the intellectual or official circles, launching a comprehensive war.
Zhu Youxiao even wanted to defeat the Qi, Zhejiang and Chu parties at one time. What he wanted to activate was the new party, which was the party he was about to develop.
You should know that after Emperor Jiajing came to power, he launched a grand ceremony. What is the so-called grand ceremony?
On the surface, it was a political dispute over the imperial succession, caused by the Jiajing Emperor's decision to replace his parents by allowing a local prince to ascend the throne.
But is this actually the case? No, in essence, it was the Jiajing Emperor who was playing political games.
To put it bluntly, it's time for you to start taking sides. Who are you and why are you doing this? This is the key.
If you are willing to listen to me, the emperor, and work for me, then great, stand on my side; if not, then I'm sorry.
Zhu Youxiao was also prepared to do so.
For an emperor, there is no such thing as right or wrong. There is only whether you support my rule or not.
If you support my rule, then you are mine; if you don’t, then I can only let you die.
This has nothing to do with morality, knowledge, or even the individual.
"Go tell Wei Zhongxian." Zhu Youxiao thought about it and thought, but there was still one step missing, and that was Wei Zhongxian. He had to ensure that there would be no problems with Wei Zhongxian.
"Yes, Your Majesty." Chen Hong agreed, turned around and walked out quickly. He always felt that something big was about to happen, and now this feeling was becoming more and more urgent.
Soon Wei Zhongxian arrived. Zhu Youxiao looked at Wei Zhongxian in front of him and asked with a sullen face, "Can you still control those people from the Three Judicial Departments?"
"Your Majesty, I can do it." Wei Zhongxian replied quickly, without any change in his expression.
"Let them confess?" Zhu Youxiao turned to look at Wei Zhongxian again. "You'd better tell the truth. If you make a mistake, you might not even have the chance to attend Emperor Taizu's wake."
Wei Zhongxian was shocked when he heard this.
The so-called keeping vigil for Emperor Taizu was a very cruel punishment for the eunuchs.
How could Wei Zhongxian, who had already experienced the taste of power, be willing to attend the wake? He quickly said, "Your Majesty, every word this servant said is the truth."
Zhu Youxiao nodded and said, "That's great, go ahead!"
Zhu Youxiao stretched himself as he watched Wei Zhongxian leave. Things were almost done, and the rest could begin.
Liaodong, Shenyang City.
"Marshal, the Jiannu are withdrawing." Li Guangrong said excitedly, "Should we pursue them?"
Xiong Tingbi glanced at Li Guangrong, his expression unchanged. He simply shook his head and said, "No!"
A hint of sadness flashed across Li Guangrong's face, but he still tried to speak: "General, the Jiannu have divided their forces. There are only about ten thousand people outside the city right now. If our army rushes out from the city, we will definitely win the battle. That Jiannu Nurhaci is still outside. If we can capture him, it will be a great achievement. We can even recapture Tieling and other places!"
After taking a look at the excited Li Guangrong, Xiong Tingbi shook his head. He didn't believe that the Ming army in the city could win. It would be good enough if they could defend Shenyang.
Even Xiong Tingbi suspected that there was an ambush outside. In Xiong Tingbi's opinion, Nurhaci was not such a stupid person, would he give him the opportunity to chase?
The so-called division of troops to attack Liaoyang must be an ambush outside the city. As long as you go out, you will definitely be ambushed. At that time, not only will you lose the battle, but even the city of Shenyang will be lost.
Xiong Tingbi would definitely not do such a thing. He said directly, "You keep an eye on them. When they are far away, send out scouts. I will write a victory report. This time we have won a great victory. I will report this victory to the court."
Li Guangrong was bewildered. "Victory? A great victory?" "Marshal, are you crazy, or did I hear you wrong?"
Hurrying a few steps to catch up, Li Guangrong said with a worried look on his face, "General, Governor Xue's impeachment letter to you has probably already arrived in the capital. He will surely accuse you of being cowardly and unwilling to leave the city. Writing a victory report now will probably backfire, right?"
It is not uncommon for border army generals to report a small victory as a big one and to report a victory in a grand manner. It is basically a routine operation.
But this time was different. This time, you were trapped inside and didn't even dare leave the city. Besides, the governor was keeping an eye on you. It would be inappropriate for you to report victory at this time, right?
Xiong Tingbi glanced at Li Guangrong and said unhappily, "What do you know? Look, I'll ask for a reward for you."
Xiong Tingbi knew in his heart that this crappy victory could only be described as a defense, but he had to write it this way.
Firstly, it was to establish his own prestige, and secondly, it was to establish his own authority in front of the Liaodong soldiers.
Where does the authority of military generals come from?
The answer is simple: the emperor's favor. The emperor's favor is the source of your authority.
If no one listens to what you say, what authority do you have? Without authority, how can you enforce military discipline? How can you intimidate your subordinates?
If I can get a reward under such circumstances, what does that mean? It means that I am a person favored by His Majesty.
The people below would naturally behave themselves when they saw this. Then, if he wanted to enforce strict military discipline, he could just kill a few people to establish his authority, and basically all these veteran soldiers would behave themselves.
Of course, there are also difficulties here, that is, whether the emperor really trusts you. If not, then you are courting death; if so, then you can establish your authority.
This is also the third reason why Xiong Tingbi wrote this victory report. He wanted to see to what extent His Majesty supports him.
A general is not bound by the orders of the emperor when he is away from home. If Your Majesty cannot tolerate me doing something out of line, then this false report of a great victory is probably enough to get me dismissed from office and sent home, and I might even be charged with a crime.
Of course, Li Rongguang didn't understand Xiong Tingbi's thoughts.
But when he saw that Xiong Tingbi was so confident, he subconsciously believed what Xiong Tingbi said, and then the news spread.
Everyone in Liaodong was stunned. How could this be possible?
If this reward could be obtained, the Marshal would be so favored by His Majesty!
Many people did not believe that Xiong Tingbi could ask His Majesty for rewards, and even more of them sneered at him.
But no one dared to jump out at this time. It's better to be safe than sorry! What if Xiong Tingbi really came down? What should we do then?
These people adopted a wait-and-see attitude. Anyway, if Xiong Tingbi couldn't be removed, he would not have the face to continue serving as this official, so it would be better to wait a little longer.
However, because of what Xiong Tingbi did, Liaodong actually stabilized and everyone began to cooperate with him.
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